A Method to Madness
by DannyjamesJannydames
Summary: A moody teen, a man in an alligator mask, a psychologist and a man speaking in constant monotone, two mysterious friends with deep scars, and an underground bunker. They all share something in common: madness. What could go wrong? ...Quite a bit, actually. (An almost all OC story) (Rating may change)
1. A Boy and His Alligator Man

_**Authors Notes: Hello, and welcome to my first story in... a long time, actually. I took a long ass time off, and I figured after honing my skills (Not really) I would come back, as a (Worse) better writer! Pretty much every story I've actually tried to write got abandoned or ended up not being interesting to me anymore, so I always ended up not updating them, which probably pissed people off. So I'm gonna try and**_ not **_do that with this one, m'kay? Enjoy. I hope._**

* * *

 _ **A Method To Madness**_

 _ **A Boy And His Alligator Man**_

A tall man stood in a kitchen, occupied by another person, a boy in his late teens. The man wore a string mask with an alligator on it, and the boy wore dog tags and glasses. The man stood in the middle of the room, while the boy rummaged through the cabinets and drawers.

"What, you just gonna stand there all day with your stupid mask on, Jerry?" the boy asked, glancing at the masked man quickly, but then continuing his search. "Cause to me, it seems like it."

The man shrugged, and began searching as well, but at a much slower pace. "Well, we've got all day to search the place, Adam, so what's the difference?" he pulled a can out of one of the drawers, and placed it on the counter. "Besides, I thought you liked alligators."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "My name is James, not Adam. And you had the mask on before I even met you, you freak."

The man laughed. "That's funny, Adam."

Shaking his head in concern and confusion, the boy ignored his comment and continued searching, but came up with nothing. "Damn, this sucks."

Jerry shrugged, "Hey, at least we got this canned cat food I found!" he picked up the can, tossing it from hand to hand. "I can juggle!"

Ignoring him completely, he walked to the living room and sat down on the couch, stretching and then laying down. "I think I'm gonna take a nap, Jerry."

"Ooh! A nap." Jerry said, walking into the room and laying down on the couch with him. "This is nice. Can I stay?"

A horrified expression came over James' face as he shoved Jerry off the couch and sat up. "Hell no, you freak!"

"Eh? Sorry." Shrugging, Jerry walked towards the stairs dividing the kitchen and living room. "I think I'm gonna go upstairs and check it, 'kay?"

"Sure, just leave me alone." shaking his head, James laid back down. "That freak acts more like a teen than I do, what the hell?"

* * *

Slowly opening his eyes, James found his face was covered by something. Startled, he fell off the couch and tore it off his face, only to realize it was just the mask Jerry wore. "Goddammit Jerry! Why did you put this thing on my face?!"

Standing up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he saw two new people and a smiling, unmasked Jerry. "Hey, what the hell's your friends problem? Interrupted our card game."

Jaw dropping, James dropped the mask. "Jerry, who are these people?!"

"Oh, these guys? They came to scavenge this place too, but when they heard us come in, they hid in the attic. I found 'em and their friendly." Smiling, he turned back to his two new friends. "The guy with the doctors suit is Lukas. Apparently, he's a pharmacologist or whatever the heck it is. This guy I'm playing cards with is Aleks. He's Russian!"

"...Psychologist, Jerry." Lukas corrected.

"Hey, you might wanna check Jerry out." James quipped. "He's kinda messed up up there."

Lukas shrugged. "I think after 3 years of this anyone would be, myself included."

"Yeah, yeah, we get it, we get it." Aleks said, his voice almost monotonic. "Your a psychologist, you know everything. Blah blah blah..."

"You take every single chance you have to insult me, don't you?"

"Probably. I've done it so much I've forgot."

"Okay, I got this, I got this..." Jerry said. "Do you have a 10!?"

"You asked me that the last time, Jerry." Aleks said.

"So no?"

"Just get a new card already. This is getting boring."

"Darn." Grabbing a new card, he smiled. "Yes! I can get rid of the 10 with this new 10!"

"...Yay."

"This is fan-fucking-tastic." James said. "No, really, two new people? That we can't feed? Because I know Jerry will force me to let you both stay. Do you have any food at least?"

"No." Aleks said. "Alright, fuck this shit, I'm done with this game. We need to get to business." putting his cards on the table, he stood. "I've got a group a while away from here. Now, I need to know. Do you want to come with us?"

Jerry smiled. "Yes! Yes! I vote yesyesyesyesyesyesyes YES!"

"Jesus, okay." Aleks said. "How about you, kid?"

James stared at Jerry. "Do I have to spend time with him?"

Aleks shrugged. "You could probably avoid him, but it wouldn't be easy. This place is big but not that big."

James groaned. "Alright, alright. My chances are better in a group anyways."

Lukas clapped his hands together, a smiling coming over his face. "Alright, then! Let's gather our things and head out!"

* * *

After and hour, they approached a building. But instead of going directly inside, they led them to the side where Aleks moved some bushes, revealing a hatch.

"It's a motherfucking hatch."

"Are you secretly mole people?!"

"Yeah, Jerry, they're fucking _mole people._ "

"Cooool."

Clearing his throat to gain their attention, Lukas put on a small smile. "Erm, we actually aren't mole people-"

"Awww!"

"-but we do live in this bunker here outside this building, if that's any consolation. There's also electricity inside of it, due to a generator powering it."

"Woah, you're saying you have power? Like, actual freakin' power?" James asked, smiling. "Alright, I can work with this."

Aleks shrugged. "Meh, it goes out a lot. Luckily the whole bunker is sound proof though, so as long as we hide the hatch, we're safe to scream and yell. The bunker also has food in it and a rain water filter already attached. You can find that on top this building."

"...Do you have hot water?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Showers?"

"Yeah."

A tear rolled down James' face. "Thank God."

Lukas smiled, and pulled the hatch open, leading to a staircase. "Me and Aleks will go first, to warn the other two of you both, so they don't freak out. Just wait here."

Jerry smiled, and right before the hatch shut, said, "'Kay!"

James shifted from foot to foot uneasily. "Jerry, what if these guys are going to rob us? Or shoot us? They could just be trying to trick us, you know. It sounds way too good to be true."

"Oh, come on, Adam, stop it. It's alright." Jerry shook his head. "You used to be so trusting. What happened?"

James blinked. "Jerry, we've known each other for a fucking week, you call me Adam instead of my actual name, and you wear that weird mask and insist I like it when I think it's stupid. What the hell?"

Jerry stared blankly ahead, his smile never faltering for a second. He laughed. "Your funny, Adam."

"...Yeah." He uneasily glanced at Jerry before seeing the hatch open again. "Hey, what took you so long? Those things could have snuck up on us and ate us alive, you know."

"Yeeeeeah." The monotonic voice made him realize it was Aleks. "Just get in already, okay?"

Rolling his eyes, he stepped down into the hatch, Jerry lagging behind slightly. They walked down, and through a hallway with a door at the end.

"Welcome to the bunker, folks, hope you enjoy. I guess." Aleks pushed the door open, revealing a large room with doors on almost all the walls, a pool table, a table with chairs, and a small kitchen. "This is your home now. Isn't it great?"

"Woaaaah." Jerry stared in awe at the large room. "This is so coooool. Your sure you aren't mole people?"

"Uh, well, yes." Aleks said. "If we were mole people we would have made our own damn bunker."

"Good point."

James walked towards the center, a smirk on his face. "I guess I _can_ hide from Jerry, heh."

"Dude, there's a guy with an alligator mask." A man with a bandanna covering his face said. "And what about the teen? How many teens are even alive?"

The other one, a man with a hoodie covering his face in darkness, shrugged. "Hey, at least they don't seem dangerous, man."

"Good point, Johnny-boy." He smirked under the bandanna. "Maybe that alligator guy and I will be friends. He seems just as crazy as me."

Johnny patted his friend on the back. "Go ahead, my friend. Go."

Running towards Jerry, he smiled. "Hey! Alligator mask!"

Jerry turned towards him, and looked around, before jabbing a thumb to his chest and mouthing 'Me?'.

"Yeah, you!"

"Oh. Hello!"

Aleks face palmed. "Jake, I told you not to get overly excited."

Jake smirked. "Whaaaat? I'm just talking to the newbies!"

"In an overly excited way, dumbass."

"Such insult. Much sadness. Wow."

Letting out a frustrated groan, Aleks walked away. "Yeah, yeah, Doge. Just try not to get overly happy around someone with the same mindset as you."

"You want to say my mindset is stupid but don't want to offend the new guy, don't you?" Jake smirked. "Because if I know you at all, that's 100% true."

"No, I'm not saying it because you already know it." A middle finger pointed towards Jake, and Aleks was off. "Fuck you."

"I like him." Jerry said.

James glanced over at the man in the hoodie. "Your lookin' preeetty suspicious, not showing your face and all."

He shrugged. "I could say the same about your friend over there with the mask."

James narrowed his eyes. "That idiot is not my friend. And if he tells you my name is Adam, ignore him. My names James. For some reason he calls me Adam."

Johnny nodded. "He should see the Doc. Helped me plenty." He looked off to the side, revealing a small part of his face. There were scars. He turned back. "But it doesn't matter. It's his choice."

And with that, the hooded man walked off, into one of the many rooms. "...What the hells that s'posed to mean?"

"Adam!"

"Goddammit, it's James! James, Jerry! _James!_ " He turned, only to be faced with the bandanna wearing man. "Wait, what?"

"Your name is James? He said it was-"

"Of course he did..." Letting out a sigh, he explained. "Basically, he's crazy. You may even want to kick him out just to avoid the insanity."

"Dude, no way." Jake smirked. "He's awesome. Anyways, Lukas told me to show you to your room while he showed Jerry to his."

"Oh, nice." James stretched, yawning. "I need to take a nap anyways. My last one must not have been nearly long enough."

Laughing, Jake nodded. "Alright, then. Follow me, little dude."

Rolling his eyes, he followed the man to a door. He opened it, and walked in. "And here we are. Not nearly as big as the room out there, but still nice, I'd say."

James looked around. A bed, a drawer, and a mirror in the corner, with a single light hanging from the ceiling with a switch by the door. "It's not half bad, for what I usually get."

Jake nodded. "Yeah. I remember living out in the forest with ole Johnny-boy. It went… Rather poorly, I'd say, but hey. We're alive! And we have better beds than a bunch of leaves with a log pillow now!"

James nodded. "I went camping once. We couldn't even fix the tent before night fell, and it rained. I had to sleep inside a log just to stay dry."

"That must have sucked." Jake smirked. "Makes for a good story though. Well, I'm gonna leave you now, little one."

"The 'Little' comments are starting to piss me off."

"Good." and with that, the man left.

Rolling his eyes, he locked the door, and took his glasses off, followed by his shoes and socks. He climbed into the bed. "Not too soft, not too hard. It's average."

Laying down, he grabbed one of the dog tags. "Qiyt, James Mark." He grabbed the other one. "Qiyt, Emily Judith."

He closed his eyes.

"I miss you, Em."

He drifted into sleep.


	2. The Man in The Street

_**A Method To Madness**_

 _ **The Man In The Street**_

 _ **Three Days Later**_

James awoke to a knock on the door.

Sitting up in his bed, he grabbed his glasses and rubbed his eyes before putting them on. "Who is it?"

"It's Johnny."

Groaning, James got out of bed, not bothering to put his shoes or socks on. He groggily reached for the door handle, and opened it. "What?"

"In case you haven't noticed, it's pitch black."

Looking around, he realized that the entire bunker was shrouded in complete darkness. He could see, in the distance, Lukas and Aleks talking, both with candles. "What the hells going on here?"

"Generator ran out of fuel, and so have we. In other words, we need people to come help scavenge, and since you haven't really done much aside from sleep, I thought you could come with Aleks and I."

"Can't Jerry go? Or that Jake guy? Or even Lukas?" He brushed some of his hair out of his face. "I mean really, do I have to?"

"Yes, yes you do."

A groan escaped his lips, but he nodded. "Fine, fine. Give me a candle so I can see to get ready, alright?"

"I came prepared." He handed James a match and candle. "There you go."

"Thanks, I guess." Shutting the door, James lit the candle and grabbed his socks and shoes. "This is gonna suck."

* * *

"So, what do we need to find?" James asked, walking down the street with Aleks and Johnny. "After all, I haven't been here long enough to know what that thing runs on."

"Gasoline." Aleks said, pulling a map out of his pocket. "We're gonna make three stops, all marked on this map, and each stop we're gonna search each place as thoroughly as we possibly can, as quickly as we can."

"Okay, so we're looking for gasoline, right?" James asked. "Or just everything, but gas is higher priority?"

"Higher priority, because we could use some food, although the forest out back behind the building has a creek that usually has enough fish and animals going through to keep us well fed." Johnny said, "But we could use some more just in case."

Aleks nodded. "He's right. We have plenty now, but with you two new guys, who knows."

James shrugged. "Meh, it's your fault if we all starve. You brought us here."

"You and the Jerry guy are the ones who accepted."

"Well, yes, but..." James shook his head. "This is a pointless argument. Let's just go where we're going already."

Aleks nodded, leading them down the street, map in hand. "We're headed to a gas station."

* * *

As they approached the gas station, James pulled his pistol out of his pocket. He had no idea what model it was, but he didn't care. It could shoot things. That's all that mattered. Aleks and Johnny did the same.

"Johnny, James, inside and search everything. I'll stay out here and keep watch, and look around a little." Aleks said, quickly scanning the area. "What did I just say? Go."

James nodded, and Johnny and him went inside the gas station. They both checked each section of the building for walkers first, then began their search, stuffing anything useful into their backpacks and pockets.

Johnny, behind the counter, opened the cash register.

"What, gonna take the money and buy something? Come on, hurry up." James said, searching an isle.

Johnny shook his head. "No, I'm just being extra thorough. Who knows? Maybe someone hid something in there."

"Yeah, right." James said, shaking his head. "That's a stupid place to hide something."

The front door opened, and Aleks walked in, quickly diving down to the ground. "Get down."

Johnny and James both crouched down. "What the fuck, Aleks? Seriously?" James whispered, crouch walking over with Johnny.

Aleks shook his head. "Shh. I saw people walking down the street."

"Did they see you?" Johnny asked, carefully looking out the window, but quickly ducking down. "Shit, I saw them. Their walking past, and it looks like one is tied up."

"What the hell?" Aleks asked, looking through the window himself.

One of the two was tied up with rope, being pushed down the street with a gun to his back, and the other wore a bright green mask, holding what appeared to be a rifle, and occasionally used it to shove the person forward.

Ducking back down below the window, James couldn't believe what he just witnessed. "What the fuck, was that guy kidnapping him?!"

"...Seems like it." Aleks said, glancing out the window. "They've passed by. We're safe to come up now."

Standing up, James looked out the window, seeing no one. "What the hell was that?"

"Don't know, don't want to know." Johnny said, shaking his head. "That was fucked up."

"Look, I think we may need to cut our little trip short." Aleks said, holding up a gas can. "Not much in it, but it'll be enough for a few days. It's too dangerous to go on."

James nodded. "Yeah, I'd rather not get shot because we wanted some extra crap."

Johnny opened the doors. "Come on."

They all three walked out, making their way down the street, guns drawn.

As they passed a building, James noticed something in one of the windows.

Staring at it for a few seconds, he couldn't put together what it was, due to the sun pointing at it and making it glare.

Squinting, he finally managed to figure it out.

"Aleks, duck!"

A gunshot rang the air, as a bullet whizzed inches away from Aleks' skull, but instead crashed into the ground below. Aleks stared in horror at the ground before shooting at the window. "Run!"

Johnny and James ran, with Aleks not far behind. Bullets whizzed past them as they ran behind the cover of an alleyway.

"Holy shit, that guy almost hit me!" Aleks said, monotone gone. "I saw the fucking bullet go past my head!"

Johnny nodded. "Yeah, that was crazy. I still hear him shooting, but we're not in his sights."

"He's fucking stupid, then!" James snarled. "Who wastes ammo like that!? Unless..."

"Unless what, James?" Johnny asked.

"What if he's trying to attract a horde to kill us instead?"

"Jesus Christ." Aleks whispered, monotone back. "Right. Let's try to get out of here, okay?"

James nodded. He scanned the area, seeing a wire fence leading to another street. "Let's go that way, so he doesn't see us."

They both nodded, and they quickly climbed the fence, seeing two walkers on the other side. Aleks shot them, before pulling the map out. "Alright, if we go north for a mile, then south for half a mile we'll be back to the bunker before midday."

"What if we run into more trouble?" Johnny asked, scanning the area nervously. "After all, the guy stopped shooting. What if he's watching, right now?"

"Then we shoot him when he attacks again. Just be careful." Aleks said, putting the map away. "Let's go."

* * *

"We're just a couple buildings away." Aleks said, sighing. "That guy… I got a look at him while I shot at him. It was the same guy in the street."

"The masked guy?" Johnny asked. "But… He went past! He didn't see you, did he?"

"He had to have..." Aleks shook his head. "Damn! I'm such a fucking idiot!"

"Calm down." James said. "We're fine."

"No." Aleks said. "He could be following us, now. One of us will have to stay up at night to keep watch… Fuuuck."

Sighing, Johnny nodded. "He's got a point. That guy was damn persistent. If he did follow us, he'll see us go into the bunker… And strike at night."

"Shit." James cursed, looking ahead at the building. "Is there any alternate entrances?"

"No." Aleks said. "None."

"...We're completely open to an attack, then."

"Yeeeeah."

"This sucks." Johnny said, walking to the hatch leading to the bunker.

"Look at it this way, as long as someone is on watch, we'll be okay." Aleks said. "This is no reason to panic."

"Have you ever been kidnapped and tortured before, Aleks?" Johnny asked. "Because I have. It wasn't fun, and I'd like to not go through it again. So I'm sorry if I worry."

Aleks shrugged. "Alright, can't blame you for that one."

"Kidnapped? Tortured?" James shuddered. "What the fuck."

As Johnny went to unhook the hatch, he stopped. "Why do you think me and Jake hide our faces?" He opened the hatch as realization dawned on James.

"I..." he went down, followed by Aleks. "I'm sorry about what I said about you being suspicious for hiding your face."

Johnny shrugged. "You didn't know."

They went in in silence, seeing everyone sitting at the dining table with the chairs with candles. "Adam! Your back!"

Jerry ran over, Lukas and Jake walking over. "Your back early, Johnny-boy. What happened?"

"Yes, why?" Lukas asked.

"We were attacked." Aleks explained, "Don't worry. We're all fine. But we may have been followed."

Lukas closed his eyes, a frown coming over him. "This isn't good."

"Damn! Does this mean we have to put someone on watch at night now?!" Jake asked.

"Calm down, Jake." Johnny said. "I think, for a month at least, someone should be on watch at night. Just to be safe."

Aleks nodded. "Yeah. Me, Lukas and Johnny will have to talk about this in private."

"Woah, why you three?" James asked. "Why can't we all talk about this?"

"First of all, Jake's told me he didn't want to be apart of group talks like this," Johnny said, "And second of all, you and Jerry appeared here three days ago. Three days. We still don't know if we can trust you."

"Yeah, little dude." Jake said. "It's true."

Rolling his eyes, James shook his head. "I'm going to sleep. Tell me if any important shit happens."

And with that, James walked off to his room.

* * *

"Okay, so we need to talk about more than just schedules." Aleks said, walking into the meeting room. "Because that kid is a little too lazy."

"Okay, what do you suggest then?" Lukas asked. "I could take a look at him, maybe try to get him more motivated, maybe?"

"No." Aleks said. "I think we should put him on watch."

"You just said yourself he was lazy." Johnny said. "He'll probably fall asleep."

"Exactly. Which is why Jerry is also going on watch with him to annoy him to stay awake."

Johnny busted out laughing. "Yeah! That's perfect! If money had any value, I'd pay to watch that!"

"To watch a young boy get insanely enraged by his partner?" Lukas asked. "Yes. I would too."

Aleks nodded. "So, now that that's settled, who's next?"

"I volunteer." Johnny said. "I'm a good shot, and I can stay up pretty well too."

Aleks nodded. "And I'll go after you. I was the one spotted, after all, so I have to make it up."

"Nah, man, it's alright. Jerry and James take half the night, I take the rest." Johnny said.

Aleks sighed. "Your sure?"

Johnny nodded. "Yeah! Just get Jake in on it too, and I'll be fine! Hell, it may even be fun."

Lukas smiled. "Now that that's settled, I think you two need a break. You were nearly killed earlier, and Johnny will have to be up half the night with Jake. Get some rest. I can take care of the generator and tell everyone."

They both nodded, and they all headed out of the room. Lukas made his way to James' room. He knocked on the door. "James! It's Lukas. We need to talk."

After hearing some shuffling, the door opened, revealing James with bedhead and no glasses. "What?"

"Your going to be going on watch tonight! With Jerry!"

"What?!"

"Your going on watch. With Jerry. Tonight."

The door slammed in his face.

"I'm not going to lie, I expected that one."

"Fuck you!"

Lukas only laughed. "Sorry, but there's no way out of it!"


	3. Skeletons On The Stairs

_**Hello once again, ladies and gents. This is the best streak I've had of updating my stories in years! It's amazing, ain't it? Anyways, not sure how good this one is, but I hope you enjoy anyways.**_

* * *

 _ **A Method To Madness**_

 _ **Skeletons On The Stairs**_

"So, after the near complete failure of the last scavenging mission, I think it's time we sent someone out again, and since we're all here..." Lukas said, "I think me, Jerry and Jake will go out."

Jerry smiled. "Yay! I get to go out!"

Jake patted him on the back. "Yeah! It'll be fun."

"We'll actually be searching the last house in this neighborhood that we haven't searched yet." Lukas explained. "So we'll have to be extra careful."

"Your just as crazy as Jerry!" James said. "He's probably just gonna stand there and do nothing. That's what happened when I was searching in that house you found me and him in."

"He can be lookout, then." Lukas said. "Simple, isn't it?"

"Alright, I got nothing for that one." James said. "But your still crazy."

Jerry put a hand on James' shoulder. "Don't worry, Adam! I'll be fine. I know your worried about me."

"Worried? Yeah, right, Jerry." James said. "Why would I be worried about _you?"_

"Because we're brothers, Adam! Why else?" Jerry laughed. "Your funny, Adam."

They all stared at Jerry. "Brothers? Jerry, I met you a month or so ago. How am I your brother?"

Jerry simply laughed, his smile never faltering. "Stop it. Your being _too_ funny."

"But-"

"James." Lukas said. "This is exactly why I wanted Jerry to come. I need to figure… _That_ , out."

"Figure what out, Lukas?" Jerry asked. "Is there something wrong with me?"

"Uh… Well..." Lukas laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "No, no! I just, um, wanted to make sure you were alright to go out, that's all!"

Jerry gave a concerned look, but smiled. "Oh… Okay."

"James, can I talk to you in private?" Lukas asked.

"Oh, uh, sure..." James replied.

"Follow me." Lukas led them to his room, and he shut and locked the door behind them. "I need you to tell me everything you know about Jerry."

"Well..." James shrugged. "All I know about him, personally, is that he calls me Adam instead of James, always laughs and says 'Your funny, Adam' when I say my name is James, and wears that mask of his almost constantly."

"Anything else? At all?"

"Well… He acts… Almost like a kid, at times. I mean, he tried climbing into the couch with me the day you found me and shrugged it off! Then he puts that stupid mask on my face..."

"I see..." Lukas sighed. "I can't really make anything out of that. I would need to have an actual session with him… But I don't think he'd want to."

"Why? He loves talking. And talking. And fucking _talking._ "

Lukas shrugged. "For some reason, people don't like talking about their mental problems. And if I tried to convince him your not this Adam person, who's to say he won't get violent?"

James nodded. "True, true."

Lukas unlocked the door. "Well… That was all. I'll see you when we get back, I suppose."

James nodded. "Yeah. See you then."

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"Nope."

"Are we there yet?"

"Nope."

"Are we there yet?"

"Yep."

Lukas stared blankly at Jake. "You possess inhuman amounts of patience. You would have been a good father."

"Thanks, Lukas!" Jake said, smiling as he looked at the door of the house they were about to go into. It was torn down. "Jeez! What happened here?"

Jerry slowly walked into the building, leaving his companions behind. He looked to his left, seeing a staircase with a skeleton on it. He walked over, seeing a large pool of blood under it along with a bullet through the skull, and a bullet through one of the shoulder bones.

Jerry sat down on the steps, caressing the area where the bullet entered the skull.

Jake walked in, and instantly went wide eyed upon seeing Jerry. "Uh, Doc, what the fuck do you make outta that?"

Lukas walked in, jaw dropping. "Um, Jerry?"

Jerry looked up, and shook his head. "Uh, yeah, yeah, hey!" An uneasy smile found its way to his face. "So… Found a skeleton."

Jake nodded. "Yeah… And… Were you, uh, touching it, a second ago?"

"No." Jerry looked down at it. "At least, I don't remember touching it."

Lukas slowly nodded. "Y-yes. Well, I think we may… Um, want to continue, with the search, then?"

Jerry nodded. "Yeah! Sounds good Lukas!"

Standing up, he started to follow his companions again, but his eyes lingered on the skeleton.

* * *

" _Jerry, you have to leave me!"_

" _No! I will not!"_

" _Jerry, I've been shot! They'll kill you!"_

" _I don't fucking care, I am not leaving you to die!"_

" _You have to, Jerry, please!"_

* * *

"Jerry, are you going to come?" Jake asked.

"Oh, um..." Jerry mumbled. "Y-yeah..."

"You… Okay there, Jerry?" Lukas asked, opening a cabinet and looking in. "You look like a ghost."

Jerry nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure, Jerry?" Lukas asked. "Because if you aren't, we can go back-"

"I'm fine, Lukas!" his smile returned. "Perfectly… Fine!"

Lukas simply nodded uneasily, going back to his search. "Jerry, could you search upstairs, maybe?"

Jerry nodded. "Yeah, why not? I'm up for anything!"

"I'll come with you." Lukas said. "There could be anything up there."

Jerry nodded, walking back to the staircase, eyes lingering on the skeleton as he walked up with Lukas. There was a door to his left, and he opened it, quietly walking in with Lukas. There was a bed in the middle, a closet to the left, and a dresser in the corner.

"I think it's safe." Lukas said, looking around the room quickly. "So, Jerry. Where did you get that mask from? And why wear it?"

* * *

 _Jerry stood in the middle of a toy shop, a teenage boy looking almost like James with him. "Hey, Jerry! Look at this."_

 _Looking over at the teen, Jerry smiled. "Yeah?"_

 _The teen held up a string mask with an alligator on it. He put it on. "How do I look? I always liked alligators."_

" _Not gonna lie, it looks pretty bad." Upon seeing the boy frown, Jerry corrected himself. "The mask, I mean. If it wasn't so cartoony you'd look pretty cool!"_

 _The teen shook his head. "Wanna try it on?"_

 _Jerry shrugged. "Sure, why not?"_

* * *

"Found it."

Lukas nodded. "Well, of course. But why wear it?"

"...I like alligators."

"I… See." Lukas said, looking through a drawer on the dresser. "What was happening before you met us and James?"

* * *

 _Gunfire. Ears ringing. Blood. So much blood._

" _Oh, God, Jerry, it hurts! Jerry!"_

" _It's okay, it's okay, it's okay."_

 _He was carrying him now. There were still bullets coming. Now the undead were becoming involved as well._

" _Jerry, am I going to die? Am I gonna die?!"_

" _Shut up! Your fine! Your fine!"_

" _Jerry, I'm scared!"_

" _Stop it, stop it, you'll be fine!"_

" _Jerry, no I won't! I'm gonna die!"_

" _Adam, stop!"_

* * *

"Lukas, why are you asking me this stuff?" Jerry asked.

"I'm just curious, Jerry." Lukas smiled. "Come on, you can trust me. Tell me."

Jerry shook his head. "No… No. I'd rather not."

"Maybe… sit down? Just relax, and talk."

Jerry's eyes widened. "Oh, I see now. Your trying to evaluate my sanity because you think I'm crazy!"

"What? Jerry, no, I don't think your-"

"Yeah, right!" Jerry said. "What, was it the mask? Was it the skeleton? What, what was it?"

"Well..." Lukas sighed. "No point in lying. Yes, I was trying to evaluate you. You seem… Troubled. Crazy? I don't think so, no."

"But why? I'm acting perfectly sane right now! Right, right?!" Jerry asked. "Because I am sane! I am!"

"Why… Do you sound like your trying to convince yourself?" Lukas asked. "Just… Calm down a little, Jerry. Please?"

Jerry laughed. "Haha, yeah… Yeah..." He let out a deep breath. "Yeah! Calm. Nice. Mmm."

Lukas nodded. "Er, let's go check on Jake, shall we? This was the only room up here anyways, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was." Jerry said. "Strange there was no bathroom."

As they walked down the steps, Jerry purposely avoided looking at the skeleton. "Jake! We're back down!"

Jake walked back, smiling. "Hey! How did it go? I didn't really find anything."

Lukas shook his head. "Nothing at all of use, unless you want some panties."

"Ooh, may I?" Jake asked. "No really, can I? I haven't been panty raiding in years, dude."

"You... You actually did that?" Lukas asked. "Actually, truly stole woman's panties?!"

"It was the only action I was ever gonna get, dude." Jake said. "I mean, look at me! I'm a mess before the Apocalypse and during it, too!"

Lukas shook his head. "Pervert."

"Hey, you'd do it too if you knew you were doomed to bein' by yourself in bed." Jake said. "I am a desperate man and I do not deny that fact."

Jerry laughed. "You guys are silly."

Lukas shook his head. "Let's just head home already. We didn't find anything."

Jake nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

* * *

As they walked back, Lukas and Jake walked just out of earshot of Jerry. "Lukas, did you find anything out about him?"

"Well… Admittedly, no." Lukas said. "But I can tell he is very troubled. I think it has something to do with that skeleton. Maybe it triggered something from his past? A memory?"

Jake shrugged. "I don't know anything about psychology, Doc. Only thing I know about it is if you go through too much bullshit you end up going insane."

"Jake, that is the smartest thing I have ever heard you say, and it itself was bullshit."

"Thanks, Doc!" Jake stopped walking. "Wait..."

"Just come on, we're nearly there. Just a single block left." Lukas said. "Jerry! When we get back, could you go check the water filter? For some reason, it hasn't been working properly today."

"Sure, Lukas." Jerry said. "It's on the roof of the building next to the bunker, right?"

"Yeah, it is." Jake said. "Just go up the stairs and you should get up."

"'Kay." Jerry said, as they approached the building. Walking inside, he saw the front desk had a bell on it. Smirking, he walked over and dinged it. "Ah, yes, how may I help you, sir?"

Shaking his head with a smile, he walked upstairs and went to the roof. Seeing a contraption in the middle of the roof with a pipe leading down the side of the building, he walked over, eyebrow raised. "What the heck? I just realized I didn't know how this thing works!"

"Uhh..." Shrugging, he opened a panel, and pulled a filter out. It was covered with a strange brown liquid. "Ugh, that's gross."

Walking over to the edge of the roof, he wiped it off with his hand onto the ground below. Turning around, he saw a person. Before he even realized who it was, he drew his gun and aimed it at them.

Then he paid attention to who it was.

A boy, in his late teens, with glasses and light brown hair, stood next to the water collector, a smile on his face. Blinking, the boys shoulder was covered in blood and a bloody hole in his forehead was present. Recoiling and nearly falling off the edge of the building, Jerry blinked once again. The boy was gone.

"That… That..."

* * *

" _Jerry, I saw someone."_

" _What? You saw someone?"_

 _Adam nodded. "Yes, yes. I saw a man! He had a gun, and there were two others."_

" _Adam, where are they?"_

 _A gun went off, and the wall beside Jerry now had a bullet hole in it. "Nevermind." Quickly taking his gun out, he ran, grabbing Adam by the arm and shooting behind him as he ran._

" _Jerry! Where are we going?!"_

" _Don't know, don't care!" bullets whizzed by, along with yelling behind them. "Just run!"_

 _He heard a scream, but not one of the people behind him. Turning around, he saw Adam on the ground, holding his shoulder in pain. "Oh God! Oh God, it hurts!"_

" _Adam!"_

 _Gunfire. Ears ringing. Blood. So much blood._

" _Oh, God, Jerry, it hurts! Jerry!"_

" _It's okay, it's okay, it's okay."_

 _He was carrying him now. There were still bullets coming. Now the undead were becoming involved as well._

" _Jerry, am I going to die? Am I gonna die?!"_

" _Shut up! Your fine! Your fine!"_

" _Jerry, I'm scared!"_

" _Stop it, stop it, you'll be fine!"_

" _Jerry, no I won't! I'm gonna die!"_

" _Adam, stop!"_

 _He saw a building in the distance. He ran to it, laying Adam on the ground as he attempted to open the door. "Damn! It's locked!"_

 _Walkers were coming from behind them now. If they didn't get in, they would both be dead. There was a window on the door. Pulling his pistol out, he shot the glass out and reached in, unlocking the door. Shooting a walker that was about to attack Adam, he picked him back up and went inside. Seeing a staircase, he laid Adam down on it. He shut the door._

" _Your okay now, Adam. We'll be okay now." Jerry said, stroking the hair out of the boys face. "You'll be fine."_

 _Adam shook his head. "No, no. I've lost too much blood, Jerry..."_

" _I said your fine and that's final!" Jerry said, glancing at the door. It was creaking as walkers pounded against it. He heard a window break. "We're okay, Adam!"_

" _Stop lying!" Adam said. "I'm a 16 year old! I can understand that I'm going to die, Jerry, and that you will too if you stay here!"_

" _Shut up already!" Drawing his pistol, Jerry turned to the door. "They'll be handled quickly."_

 _Shooting down the walkers, Jerry failed to notice the one creeping up behind him. As it sunk its teeth into him, he realized it was Adam, now turned._

* * *

Jerry shuddered. A hallucination. That was all that was. The boy in front of the rain collector, getting bitten by Adam, all of it. It wasn't real. But he couldn't help but touch where he had been bitten.

A warm, sticky, red liquid was on his hand after removing it. Recoiling back, and now feeling an intense pain in his neck, he felt again and there was nothing, and the pain vanished. "What's going on?! What heck was that?!"

 _No, no. I've lost too much blood, Jerry…_

 _I'm a 16 year old! I can understand that I'm going to die, Jerry, and that you will too if you stay here!_

 _Jerry, am I going to die? Jerry, am I gonna die?!_

 _Jerry, I'm scared!_

"Shut the fuck up already!" Jerry yelled, on his hands and knees. "Please, for God's sake, _shut up!_ "

He felt something slide down his face. A clear liquid, salty to the taste, and he realized suddenly what it was. "Am… Am I crying?"

He laughed. "Why would I be crying? Adam is fine! He's in the bunker! Haha! Yeah. He's fine!"

Footsteps. Snapping his head in the directing of them, he saw James standing there, a curious look on his face. "And why, may I ask, are you on your hands and knees crying? What, trying to live out some fantasy?"

"Your funny, Adam." Jerry said, standing up. "No, I was thinking about that day."

"What day?" James asked. "You have to be a bit more specific."

"You know!" Jerry said. "The day you were shot."

"...What?"

"Remember, Adam? A long time ago, a few months after this all started, you said you saw people. And a few seconds later, we were being shot at and chased. Then, at one point, you were shot." Jerry laughed. "Your really heavy for your size."

"Uh, no, I don't remember that." James said. "Um… Mind refreshing my memory?" Maybe, just maybe, if he agreed to tell him, he'd finally get to the bottom of what was wrong with Jerry. "Y'know, it'd be kind of important to remember getting shot."

Jerry nodded. "Sure! It all started when you saw a toy store and thought it'd be funny to look around in it."

* * *

 _Two people, a man with a wide, warm smile and a young teenager, both walked down a seemingly abandoned street, the man having a gun in his pocket. "Hey, Jerry, there's a toy store over there! I wonder if they have anything good?"_

" _Adam, your 16, living in the Apocalypse, and are now wondering if a toy store has good toys?" Jerry laughed. "Your funny, Adam."_

 _Adam shook his head. "Nah, you don't get it. I like to collect rare stuff, and sometimes, I look for rare toys too." Adam smirked. "And what if we find a young kid? Wouldn't they like them?"_

 _Jerry rolled his eyes. "You plan for the weirdest crap, Adam."_

 _Adam nodded. "I know I am."_

 _Walking into the abandoned store, Jerry looked around cautiously. "Just because it's a kids store doesn't mean it's safe, Adam. Remember that."_

 _Adam nodded. "Of course. I remember what world we live in, you know."_

 _Jerry shrugged. "Just making sure."_

 _Walking around, Adam sighed. "Well, I don't see much. The only stuff I've found that's even remotely rare is a ballerina toy, and I hate ballerina toys."_

" _Why?" Jerry asked. "What, afraid of me being weirded out by what your into?"_

" _What? No." Adam said. "I just don't like them. Too… I don't know, it's just something about them."_

 _Jerry shrugged. "Meh, alright."_

 _Jerry stood in the middle of the toy shop, Adam now walking over to him, holding something in his hands. "Hey, Jerry! Look at this."_

 _Looking over at the teen, Jerry smiled. "Yeah?"_

 _Adam held up a string mask with an alligator on it. He put it on. "How do I look? I always liked alligators."_

" _Not gonna lie, it looks pretty bad." Upon seeing the boy frown, Jerry corrected himself. "The mask, I mean. If it wasn't so cartoony you'd look pretty cool!"_

 _Adam shook his head. "Wanna try it on?"_

 _Jerry shrugged. "Sure, why not?"_

 _Putting it on, Jerry couldn't help but laugh. "This feels so weird. I like it."_

 _Adam looked him over, smirking. "Mm, yes, it_ does _look rather nice on you, Mr. Jerry."_

 _Jerry laughed, patting him on the head. "Your funny, Adam."_

" _Well..." Adam looked around. "It was fun, but I doubt there's really anything interesting in here."_

 _Jerry nodded. "Yeah..." Taking the mask off, he smiled. "I think I'll keep this one. Heard it's super rare, you know?"_

" _Totally." Adam said._

 _Walking out of the store, the kept walking for quite a while. "We should really find a place to stay at, Jerry." Adam said. "I'm tired of walking all day."_

 _Jerry nodded. "It does get tiring. But hey, good exercise, right?"_

 _Adam nodded. "I guess..." As they kept walking, Adam suddenly stopped. "Jerry, I saw someone."_

* * *

"Then, someone shot at us, and at one point you were shot. I had to carry you to a building, the one we searched today, in fact! And I broke in and put you on the steps. There were walkers banging on the door, the windows were being broken… All sorts of crazy stuff. Sort of a blur now though… Don't remember many details afterward."

James nodded. "I… See. Your sure you don't remember anymore?"

"Well… A little. Maybe if I start talking I'll remember." Jerry started thinking. "Okay, so you were on the staircase, talking about how you were going to die, I was telling you it was going to be alright… Hm..."

* * *

" _Jerry, please, please, please go! Now! I don't want you to die because you thought I was somehow going to survive this!"_

 _Jerry shook his head. "Adam, I can't, I can't leave you like this! I can't leave you to die! I can carry you! I can, I swear!"_

 _Adam shook his head. "Do you see all of this blood, Jerry? I'm bleeding to death, and those walkers will knock the door down in a few minutes… I'm done, Jerry."_

 _Tears streamed down his face. "No… no! I won't let you die! Please, don't die!"_

" _Everybody dies, Jerry. It's just my turn." Adam put on a weak smile. "Don't worry. Go."_

" _I can't leave you to die! You'll be eaten alive, you'll turn, and I won't let you turn!"_

" _Then shoot me."_

" _...What?"_

" _Shoot me, Jerry. That's the only way, if your being honest." Adam closed his eyes. "It's okay either way. Leave me, shoot me, it's okay. I won't judge you. After all, you wouldn't if you knew about the weird stuff I was into, right?" He let out a weak laugh at his own joke._

 _There was no noise now. Jerry heard nothing. He looked at the gun in his hand, making sure it was loaded. "I..." He aimed the gun at Adam's head. "I… I..._ _I love you, Adam."_

" _I love you too, Jerry."_

 _He pulled the trigger._

* * *

He stared in shock and horror at James. "Oh… Oh, God..."

"What? What? You never finished, you just spaced out after telling me about you saying it was alright or some shit!"

Jerry fell, onto his side, shaking tremendously and his breaths became quick, short and rasping. James crouched down next to him, only to be pushed away. "What the fuck is going on?!"

James looked from Jerry to the staircase. "Ah, shit. I have to get Lukas or something, and quick!"

A few minutes later, Lukas and James burst through the door to the roof, finding Jerry still on the ground, shaking badly.

"Oh, dear Lord! I think he's having a panic attack!" Lukas said, running over to Jerry's side. "Jerry! Jerry, please, it's okay! It's alright!"

"He's dead… He's dead… He's dead..." Jerry whispered.

"What the hell happened?!" Lukas asked. "Did something happen?!"

"I don't fucking know! He mentioned something about me getting shot once, but I hadn't, so I had him tell me about it, and suddenly when I ask him to tell me about what happened in the end he went nuts!"

"...What?!"

"You have to be there to understand!"

Lukas felt Jerry's forehead, shaking his head. "Damn! He's on fire, and he's sweating everywhere!"

"Is he okay?!" James asked.

"He'll be okay… But..." He shook his head. "When he calms down, just help me get him to his room. He'll probably be tired, or even passed out by then."

"What the fuck did I do? Did I do anything?" James asked himself. After a few minutes, Jerry seemed to calm down a little.

Jerry glanced at them both, shaking his head. "No no no no no no…."

"What, Jerry, what?" Lukas asked. "It's okay. We're both here."

Pulling himself into a fetal position, he rocked on the ground, back and forth for a few seconds, before passing out.

"...What the hell was that?"

"Like I said… I think he had a panic attack. And when we go in, I need you to tell me everything about what you two were doing up here." Lukas said. "Okay?"

James nodded. "Yeah… Yeah." He looked down at Jerry. At some point his mask had fallen off. Picking it up, he sighed. "What the hell did I do to you, Jerry?"

* * *

 ** _That revealed quite a bit, huh? Anyways, read and review. Please?_**


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